A police car passes the main gate of the house of missing Malaysia Airlines pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah outside Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. / AP

by Mahi Ramakrishnan , Special for USA TODAY

by Mahi Ramakrishnan , Special for USA TODAY

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia â?? The pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight was one of many Malaysians who have been battling a ruling party that has maintained dominance for 40 years.

The National Front coalition has held power in Malaysia since 1973 and the government largely controls the political coverage in the country's media, critics say.

"The opposition would have won if the elections were free and fair, but there are many irregularities, and the government has not been forthcoming in implementing our recommendations," says Ambiga Sreenevasan of Bersih, an election watchdog group.

The opposition lost a general election in 2008 and 2013, though last year, the party denied the ruling coalition a two-thirds majority in parliament and won the popular vote.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's conviction on sodomy charges - which he and his supporters say is a fraud to keep him from power - was a devastating blow to the movement.

"Anwar was the glue that held the opposition together," said James Chin, a political scientist with Monash University in Kuala Lumpur. "He was the iconic figure who managed to draw the support of the people. Without him, the opposition may fall apart."

Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah backed Ibrahim and was at the court when Ibrahim received the news that he will face a five-year jail term for having sex with a man, a crime in Malaysia. Ibrahim has appealed his conviction to the country's federal court.

Ibrahim said he had seen Zaharie at meetings of his political party, according to the South China Morning Post. He said he did not know him personally and criticized any attempt to tie Zaharie's political affiliations to the jet's disappearance 10 days ago with 239 passengers and crew on board.

"I don't recollect the name, but when the photographs were shown, I remembered I had seen him at party meetings," Anwar said of Zaharie at the headquarters of his People's Justice Party outside Kuala Lumpur. "He doesn't hold positions in the party but is an active member in the sense that he has been seen with the party's parliamentary leaders, taking photographs with them."

The Malaysian government denied that claims of unfairness by the opposition party would have driven Zaharie to do something terrible. Syed Ali Al-Habshee, a leader of the ruling party, called the idea "nonsensical."

Zaharie, 53, a father of three, joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981, according to the New Strait Times and had 18,365 flying hours, according to Malaysia Airlines.

He built his own flight simulator at home and liked to fix things around his home. In videos on YouTube, he shared tips on topics such as "How to service your own air-conditioner units without hassle" and "How to repair a Whirlpool icemaker."

Pictures of Zaharie on various social media sites and blogs show him with remote-controlled planes and helicopters, according to the Times. Pictures have been posted of him cooking dishes from his native Penang.